"THE ACCIDENT HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED, but we have been making progress steadily. We will continue our utmost effort so that we can bring this to an end as soon as possible." The work now shifts into a second stage, when workers will aim to further cut radiation released into the air, soil and water. They expect a cold shutdown sometime in January. A reactor reaches cold shutdown when the temperature at the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel drops below 100C, and when the release of radioactive materials is "under control."
Still, growing worries about radiation in Japan's beef supply underscore the widespread impact of the nuclear accident. The central government has instructed Fukushima to suspend shipment of all beef cows raised in the prefecture. The move comes amid a growing tally of cows - now about 650 - that were fed radiation-tainted rice straw that had been sitting outside since the March 11 disaster and then shipped nationwide. Some of the meat has already reached consumers. Fukushima officials have said they did not properly inform farmers to avoid using feed stored outdoors. Cesium levels exceeding the legal limit has been detected in beef samples in three cities.
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
None 5.0 or higher.
Yesterday -
7/19/11 -
5.0 NEAR N COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA
6.2 KYRGYZSTAN
5.0 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.2 SOUTH OF FIJI ISLANDS
5.0 IONIAN SEA
5.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
5.3 NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
VOLCANOES -
Mount Etna Erupts, Sixth Time This Year - Etna, located on the Italian island of Sicily, is erupting in spectacular fashion. The eruptions have closed the local airport for several hours. (photos)
INDONESIA - Sulawesi Volcano Eruption Interrupts Education of Thousands. Thousands of children living near the volcano have been unable to attend classes this week due to eruptions, earthquakes and elevated danger levels stemming from nearby Mount Lokon. Mount Lokon experienced its biggest eruption on Sunday with huge clouds of ash propelled 3,500 meters into the sky. More than 5,200 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters since the volcano first erupted on July 10 and its alert status was placed at the highest level.
A dense plume of ash, gas and water vapor has been erupting from the Nabro volcano in the East African nation of Eritrea since June 12. The eruption killed seven people. A photo taken June 29 shows lava flowing from the summit and running down the mountain's slope. Because of the volcano's remote location, satellite images and data have provided most of the information about this eruption. Lately the volcano has been less explosive, but continues to ooze lava.
The Nabro volcano had not erupted in recorded human history, "but lava flows near the volcano are relatively recent geologically. Nabro is part of the very active East African Rift, where three tectonic plates are pulling away from each other. As the Earth’s crust thins in the region, volcanoes rise in weak spots."
Scientists in Vanuatu have kept the eruption hazard warning at level one for the Ambae volcano but caution last week’s explosions were UNUSUALLY POWERFUL. Three large blasts a little over a week ago have provided data that can now be used to more closely predict further eruptions. The frequency and power of volcanic activity have not changed dramatically in the days since then. “What’s happened the last time is it’s the first time we witness a very strong explosion like this and we didn’t have so much experience about precursors as the first signal from this kind of activity so now we could take this event and we could follow up this same kind of signal that we witnessed the last time.” People need to be prepared as the situation could change very quickly. Ash has affected crops and some water supplies.
TROPICAL STORMS -
-HURRICANE 04E (DORA) was located off the southwest coast of Mexico. SEVERAL MODELS SHOWING A POTENTIAL THREAT TO BAJA CALIFORNIA.
-TROPICAL STORM BRET MOVING SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC OFF THE COAST OF FLORIDA.
-TROPICAL STORM 08W (MA-ON) was LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 220 NM WEST-SOUTHWEST OF YOKOSUKA, JAPAN.
Dozens injured as Typhoon Ma hits Japanese coastline - Typhoon Ma hit Japan early this morning, injuring dozens as it crossed the southern part of Tokushima prefecture on Shikoku. Torrential rain and lashing winds from the typhoon injured at least 47 people in 15 prefectures, while another person was reported missing and public transportation was disrupted. The typhoon had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
But as of 8:30am Australian time today, as the typhoon moved north-northeast, it was still packing winds of up to 120kph near its center. Tthe Japan Meteorological Agency had previously warned that northeastern Japan, already devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the Hokuriku region facing the Sea of Japan could also experience heavy rain as the typhoon moves forward. In preparation, Tokyo Electric Power Company workers installed a temporary cover over a building at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to shield it from wind and rain.
Tropical Storm Dora strengthened in the eastern Pacific and has become a hurricane, while Bret weakened in the Atlantic on a course out to sea.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
The UN is set to declare a famine in parts of Somalia, as humanitarian conditions deteriorate amid THE WORST DROUGHT IN OVER HALF A CENTURY.
Heat-wave kills 13 people across US heartland - The National Weather Service put 18 states stretching from Montana to Texas to West Virginia under a heat warning, watch or advisory, with the heat index topping 38C (100F) in most locations. The heat is expected to move east in the next several days. MORE THAN 1,000 US HEAT RECORDS HAVE BEEN BROKEN THIS MONTH.
Though many US states have recently seen temperatures over 90F, some regions saw heat indexes - a combination of air temperature and relative humidity - up to 131F.
Knoxville, Iowa: 131
Freeport, Illinois: 124
Hutchinson, Minnesota: 123
Watertown, Wisconsin: 119
Tekamah, Nebraska: 117
The National Weather Service said a stagnant air mass on the central plains was causing the extended heat-wave, which has plagued swathes of the US for nearly a week. The US Border Patrol said high temperatures were also responsible for a spike in deaths of illegal immigrants trying to cross the border from Mexico. Roads in Oklahoma [and Minnesota] were reported to be cracking due to the heat, while dozens of the state's residents have required medical treatment in the past several days. On Monday, Oklahoma experienced its 28th day of triple-digit temperatures this year.
An extreme drought that has also afflicted several south-west states in recent weeks caused water-main ruptures to quadruple in Oklahoma City to up to 20 per day. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Illinois baked in temperatures that soared over 110F, while the town of Knoxville in Iowa experienced heat indexes over 130F. Residents in Minnesota, a mostly temperate state, saw heat indexes reach 123F. NOAA released data in June showing that temperatures had risen across the US by roughly 1.5F during the past 30 years. Forecasters said UNUSUAL HEAT would continue to through to the end of the month. Heat is responsible for killing 162 people in the US on average each year. (map)
